The monthly payslip batch from the payroll software is split by employee as soon as it lands in Google Drive, password-protected file by file and sent on WhatsApp. Employers see a shared log of every payslip as delivered, read or failed.
Typical results
Under 1 hr
From batch export to payslips delivered
40
Employers served from one automation
100%
Payslips with a delivery status in the log
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
A payroll bureau produces one large PDF of payslips per employer each month. Staff split it by hand, rename every page and email the files one by one, often to outdated addresses. Employees call asking where their payslip is, employers ask for proof of delivery, and a single misaddressed file exposes someone's salary to the wrong person.
Before and after
Staff hours per payroll cycle on payslip delivery
−83%Where-is-my-payslip calls per month
−73%Payslips sent to a wrong or outdated address, per month
−100%The automation
When a payslip batch PDF lands in the employer's Google Drive folder, a Make scenario splits it into one file per employee using the ID printed on each page. Each file is protected with a password based on the employee's ID number. The payslip goes on WhatsApp to the mobile number held in the payroll records. A Google Sheets delivery log shared with the employer records every payslip as delivered, read or failed.
How it works
- 01
Batch PDF lands in Drive
Saving the month's payslip batch from the payroll software into the employer's folder starts the run.
- 02
Split by employee ID
Each page is read for the employee ID and grouped into one PDF per employee.
- 03
Password-protected file
Every payslip is locked with a password based on the employee's ID number.
- 04
Sent on WhatsApp
The file goes to the mobile number held in the payroll records, with a short note on how to open it.
- 05
Delivery log updated
A shared sheet shows each payslip as delivered, read or failed, and failures are listed for staff to resend.
Starts from
- Payslip batch in Drive
- Employee IDs and numbers
Delivers
- Payslip on WhatsApp
- Shared delivery log
- Failed delivery list
The impact
The bureau saves about 5 hours per payroll cycle on splitting and sending across its 40 employers. Payslips reach employees within an hour of the batch export, misaddressed files stop because numbers come from the payroll records, and employers answer delivery questions from the shared log.
Questions about this automation
How are employees' phone numbers kept current?
Numbers come from the employee records in the payroll software, which the bureau already updates when staff join or change details. Each run uses the latest records, and any payslip whose number is missing or fails on WhatsApp is listed in the delivery log, so staff can correct the record and resend.
Is sending payslips on WhatsApp secure enough?
Each payslip is a separate PDF locked with a password derived from the employee's ID number, so a forwarded or misdelivered file cannot be opened without it. Employers that prefer email can switch delivery to email for their company, and the same password protection applies.
What if the payroll software changes the payslip layout?
The split only needs to find the employee ID printed on each page. If a layout change moves it, pages without a readable ID are held and listed in the delivery log instead of being sent, and the ID position is updated once for that software. Simple automations like this are usually live within days.